Brian Vicente, chairman of the Yes on Prop. AA campaign, left, and, left to right, campaign manager Rick Ridder, state Rep. Dan Pabon, and state Rep Jonathan Singer celebrate a victory during an election party for those in favor of Proposition AA, to impose specific taxes on recreational marijuana use, at a hotel bar in Denver, on Nov. 5 (Brennan Linsley, The Associated Press)

By Jessica PeckBattleground Colorado

My “I love Colorado moment” No. 27,937,293: Yes, this crazy square state — equal parts Tea Partyer and Stoned Secessionist — voted in a united and articulate voice of reason Tuesday. While I may not agree with the chosen path in its entirety, I think I get the underlying thesis.

Notably, instead of backing a massive tax increase (Amendment 66) that would have funded early retirement for an endless sea of education bureaucrats, voters chose a different approach. In ballot after ballot, they said, “Let’s tax the hell out of pot and devote the revenue strictly to two things. First, let’s create a regulatory framework that actually pays for itself this time. And, second, let’s fund stuff that actually helps kids, like putting a roof over their classrooms, for instance.”

It’s all pretty daring, in my opinion. “Do you mean,” the CEA must be thinking, “that the last several rounds of taxpayer-funded tax increases should have been enough? We need MORE.”

Regarding pot: As much as we must anticipate at least a minimally measurable — and, more likely, a somewhat sizable surge in black market pot sales — I’d rather see either scenario over the days of 2012, where our tax dollars were flushed down the toilet (otherwise known as clandestine coffers of prohibition enforcement).

Go, Colorado! By freeing the weed, we are funding our schools. At least that’s the goal, right?

Time will tell how this all plays out.

Jessica K. Peck is a Denver-based attorney (www.JPDenver.com) and serves as the executive director of Colorado’s Open Government Institute. She is a member of The Denver Post’s Battleground Colorado panel.

It’s Election Day here in Colorado and around the rest of the United States. Editorial cartoonist Nate Beeler hopes you exercised today — your right to vote, that is — while Bob Englehart suggests revenge might be on some voters’ minds.

In a controversial, 5-4 decision released Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the most powerful part of the landmark Voting Rights Act, saying states with a history of discrimination in voting no longer need Washington’s approval before changing the way they hold elections. Editorial cartoonist Adam Zyglis suggests the result will be rampant gerrymandering among the states, while Nate Beeler suggests that court has eroded the last remaining right Americans have. Click through the slideshow below to see more cartoons on the decision.

Earlier this week, the RNC suddenly cut ties with Strategic Allied Consulting, a company formed by an Arizona political consultant. In Florida, elections officials in Palm Beach County turned over to authorities 106 voter registration forms linked to the firm’s work. The majority of the forms were Republican registrations.

“This is an issue we take extremely seriously,” RNC spokesman Sean Spicer told CBS News. “When allegations were brought to our attention we severed all ties to the firm.”

It’s unclear just how widespread the alleged voter fraud may be. But one thing’s for sure — it’s a hard pill to swallow for a party so focused on finding and proving electoral misdeeds of their opponents.

They’re describing it as a “glitch,” an unintentional problem in the electronic voter registration system that prevented 779 people from registering to vote.

After all the controversy about Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s efforts to seek out ineligible voters and remove them from the rolls, you might think his office would be more careful about such things.

Between Sept. 14 and 24, a software update reportedly caused a problem that prevented people using tablets and mobile phones from being able to register to vote.

Vincent Carroll is The Denver Post's editorial page editor. He has been writing commentary on politics and public policy in Colorado since 1982 and was originally with the Rocky Mountain News, where he was also editor of the editorial pages until that newspaper gave up the ghost in 2009.

Guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 150 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address, day and evening phone numbers, and may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.

To reach the Denver Post editorial page by phone: 303-954-1331

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